Shifting Moods

Anita del Rosario, Maks, Jun Impas

April 10 – 26, 2022

ArtistSpace
Ground Level Ayala Museum Annex, Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati City 1224 Philippines

Sculptor and jewelry designer Anita Del Rosario, and respected painters Jun Impas and Micah Bodegon, partner for the first time and showcase in an exhibition, the diversity of Filipino artistry in terms of style and medium with their exhibition Shifting Moods. The three University of Santo Tomas (UST) Alumni, who came from different batches and who have made their names mastering their particular subjects and styles, join forces to create a rare visual treat for art collectors and enthusiasts as they explore universal themes of love and faith, as well as wonderful aspects of Filipino culture.

A showcase artist of ManilArt 2020 and recognized as one of the Top 100 Women Artists of 2015 by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Anita Del Rosario presents her much anticipated Redeemer sculpture series alongside her Mother and Child. The very well-composed geometric modernist sculptures, crafted using materials and techniques more often used in jewelry than contemporary sculpture, reveal the mastery that Del Rosario has gained from her roughly 50 years of jewelry design practice. Combining precious mother-of-pearl with brass, copper sheet, wood, and resin, she creates ten purely handcrafted and unique pieces for her portion of the exhibition. Her stylized geometric compositions have surprisingly fluid, dynamic lines, and very well-balanced use of textures and color. Of the ten, seven are cherished crucifixion pieces from her Redeemer series of crucifixes, and two are poignant Mother and Child works. For Del Rosario, speak of love, which ultimately, ties up with the love of God for us, and both honor the upcoming Holy Week. It is worth noting that right exactly this exhibition, Del Rosario will be honored by the UST Alumni Association and the UST Atelier Alumni Association, Inc. with the title “Distinguished Artist Award” alongside renown UST Alumni Artists Ramon Orlina, Andres Barrioquinto, Remy Boquiren, among others, in a special exhibition also at the ArtistSpace this April 2022.

Cebu-based realist painter Jun Impas, has gained renown and coveted patronage from his superb portraits of bishops, priests and influential personalities, as well as for his genre and historic paintings. A self-taught artist, Impas honed his craft through careful observation, experimentation, and discovery, since practicing full-time as a painter in 1997, creating a distinct realism that is marked by chiaroscuro which ennobles his distinguished portrait subjects, as well as the usually humble subjects of genre, creating a heroic appearance, but are surprisingly not alienating as his subjects often wear a smile. For his portion of the exhibition, Impas shares vignettes of ordinary life, taken from both reality, as well as composed genre scenes. Through his treatment, the special in the ordinary is highlighted, giving audiences the chance to delight in what is awe-inspiring masterful works in oil paint. Not known to many, he attended and graduated college when he was already in his forties, from a full scholarship from UST given to him in recognition of his talents, as his circumstances were such that he could not go through college when he was a youth. His story just proves that when one focuses on what one loves, and gives it his all, surprising and unexpectedly good things can happen.

The youngest in the group, Micah Bodegon balances his painting with his graphic design practice. Having exhibited with other established painters, like Emmanuel Garibay in 2001, and even with Anita Del Rosario in 2019, Bodegon has had roughly twenty years in his career as painter. His usual subjects are women situated with flowers, relating his admiration for the beauty of nature, and the female form; as well as the need to love and care for the environment. His graphic design practice insinuates itself in his painting manifested through the choice of specially shaped hexagonal canvases used for some of his works, as well as highly graphic and often surreal elements which divide or punctuate the composition such as checkerboard patterns and eyes in the painterly depiction of a person surrounded by flowering and foliage plants rendered in opaque acrylic paint. Some of his works depict people in cubes which may relate with the isolation and confinement that we all experienced during the lockdown, from when quite a number of the works have been made.

Shifting Moods provides a survey of different techniques and diverse media by three artists from UST who graduated from different batches and are of personalities. What ties them together, other than the camaraderie they developed through this exhibition, is the love positive values and their dedication for their craft that they have come to master and express in their distinct styles over the decades.